Undertow | Shock Therapy Productions

Written, directed, designed and performed by Sam Foster and Hayden Jones, Undertow is a powerful new means of storytelling, birthing a new era of performance making.

This new work explores the stories of the figures from a high school community who are each battling with their own demons and insecurities. Key figures include alcoholic Constable, a jock who was buckling underneath his schools, parents and teachers expectations put on him and Jesse, a student struggling to be accepted as a result of their gender identity. Foster and Jones shared these characters between themselves, as well as bringing to life all of the other members of the school community shown through the change of a hat, jacket, door frame or spinning of a table. The way in which the actors transitioned in and out of characters including changing their tone, dialect and movements was seamless.

I always love watching plays which use a minimal set, if they have any set at all, and watch they create with the limited items they have. They often end up being the most extraordinary pieces of theatre that I’ve watched and this show was no different. It’s impossible to pinpoint all the different places the table transformed into from a flick of hand.

Using the conventions of Epic Theatre, Foster and Jones allowed us to see their transitions in and out of characters and setting in a blacked-out stage. This not only placed an onus on the writing but also connected the characters lives and conflicts, showing that the difference between humans might be a metaphorical change of hat.

Lastly, the writing was equal parts comical and confronting but all parts moving and touching. For me, this show and the people represented in it, was all about vulnerability and the shame that often comes with trying to be vulnerable. A very poignant narrative for twenty-first century teens who may be fighting their own mental health battles and finding their own identity.

Shock Therapy Productions has birthed a new era of performance-making through their effortless integration of various performance styles, stagecraft and storytelling. Their work Undertow is a testimony to that.

It is an honest and powerful look at the hidden forces, beneath the surface that move us and determine the choices we make and the actions we take. Centering around a high school community, the show follows a group of individuals, from a range of backgrounds, all dealing with their own unique challenges

Undertow is an original work that explores themes of resilience, mental health, relationships, identity and empathy. Centred around a high school community and the events that take place over the course of two weeks, Undertow follows three main characters Jesse, Connor and Phil, as they each struggle to cope with the pressures of life, while trying to manage relationships with the people close to them.

Shock Therapy draw on a range of film conventions and physical theatre techniques to push their signature style in a new direction, blurring the line between different realities. The result is storytelling that is fluid and inventive, sweeping you up in its current as the story pulls you deeper.